First Spartan race.

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lhub2
lhub2 Posts: 18 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Any other Spartans out there? Do you have any words of wisdom for a first Spartan Sprint?

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  • Pamshebamm181
    Pamshebamm181 Posts: 92 Member
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    When is your race?

    Practice your burpees. Work on your grip strength. Practice hiking steep hills and carrying heavy things.

    If your race is soon, and you haven't been training, it may be too late to do too much of that. Just keep pushing forward and try your best. Assuming you are running open, there will be plenty of other Spartans on the course who will be more than willing to assist you over an obstacle if need be.
  • sheepingly
    sheepingly Posts: 237 Member
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    Pamshebamm181 wrote: »
    When is your race?

    Practice your burpees. Work on your grip strength. Practice hiking steep hills and carrying heavy things.

    If your race is soon, and you haven't been training, it may be too late to do too much of that. Just keep pushing forward and try your best. Assuming you are running open, there will be plenty of other Spartans on the course who will be more than willing to assist you over an obstacle if need be.

    I will be doing a spartan sprint at some point in 2018. My question probably along with the OP is what type of obstacles are there? Like climbing? Carrying? Trying to get an idea of what to expect.
  • Pamshebamm181
    Pamshebamm181 Posts: 92 Member
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    sheepingly wrote: »
    Pamshebamm181 wrote: »
    When is your race?

    Practice your burpees. Work on your grip strength. Practice hiking steep hills and carrying heavy things.

    If your race is soon, and you haven't been training, it may be too late to do too much of that. Just keep pushing forward and try your best. Assuming you are running open, there will be plenty of other Spartans on the course who will be more than willing to assist you over an obstacle if need be.

    I will be doing a spartan sprint at some point in 2018. My question probably along with the OP is what type of obstacles are there? Like climbing? Carrying? Trying to get an idea of what to expect.

    Rope climb, walls, barbed wire crawl, monkey bars, multi-rig, bucket carry, sandbag carry, fire jump...are all standard for a Sprint race. Also Olympus and Twister (look those two up because they're difficult to explain).

    Spartan also likes to take advantage of the venue's terrain. If you're racing at a mountain, expect some steep climbs. If you're doing a stadium sprint, expect lots of stairs.
  • sheepingly
    sheepingly Posts: 237 Member
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    Pamshebamm181 wrote: »
    sheepingly wrote: »
    Pamshebamm181 wrote: »
    When is your race?

    Practice your burpees. Work on your grip strength. Practice hiking steep hills and carrying heavy things.

    If your race is soon, and you haven't been training, it may be too late to do too much of that. Just keep pushing forward and try your best. Assuming you are running open, there will be plenty of other Spartans on the course who will be more than willing to assist you over an obstacle if need be.

    I will be doing a spartan sprint at some point in 2018. My question probably along with the OP is what type of obstacles are there? Like climbing? Carrying? Trying to get an idea of what to expect.

    Rope climb, walls, barbed wire crawl, monkey bars, multi-rig, bucket carry, sandbag carry, fire jump...are all standard for a Sprint race. Also Olympus and Twister (look those two up because they're difficult to explain).

    Spartan also likes to take advantage of the venue's terrain. If you're racing at a mountain, expect some steep climbs. If you're doing a stadium sprint, expect lots of stairs.

    Ok great. So i'll incorporate inclines, carries, climbs, monkey bar type of stuff and other grip stuff.
  • guacamole17
    guacamole17 Posts: 109 Member
    edited September 2017
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    I 2nd all the training advice - learn to love hills and burpees - grip strength and lifting/pulling up your own body weight is crucial to being able to do many of the obstacles. Practice rope climbs and spear throws if you can (I fail those no matter how much I practice, whomp whomp). Monkey bars and rings are good practice too - as is rock climbing (indoor or otherwise).

    I assume you aren't running competitive or elite - A team is so much more fun to race with and (if you aren't running competitive or elite) it is super fun helping people with obstacles and awesome to get through them with a little help. I only had to do 90 burpees at my Spartan sprint last year and it was AWESOME to meet new people (I ran alone at first, then met folks going at my very slow pace that helped me).

    Get proper clothing. Nothing cotton, good socks, and appropriate footwear are also crucial. You will be wet, muddy, and possibly cold depending on the season you race in. If you are running a longer distance, bring hydration and nutrition. The Spartan website has good info on what to bring and wear!

    Find like minded people - I'm part of a Spartan FB page and they have been instrumental in preparing me (mind and body). Most regions of the US have large Spartan groups that race together, you just have to look for them.

    Good luck!!! I love OCR :smile:
  • rubrink
    rubrink Posts: 43 Member
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    Run, do burpees, do pullups and/or bar hangs. To me those are the most important

  • esjones12
    esjones12 Posts: 1,363 Member
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    Best advice for your first race is to go in with an open mind and have fun! You will quickly identify the areas you need to work on. Running and cardio fitness is the most overlooked in training by newcomers unless they come from a running background. Other than that most people struggle with the grip strength obstacles. You really need overall fitness though - so unless you are already relatively fit, focus on overall fitness!

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